


My Heart Beats with the Dance

by Michdie



Category: Aladdin (2019), Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Aladdin remake, Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Game: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, No spoilers for Aladdin, Rest in Peace Robin Williams, Self-Indulgent, Some kissing, Will Smith as the Genie, fighting heartless, fluff with plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-05 19:39:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19047031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michdie/pseuds/Michdie
Summary: Roxas and Xion are sent to Agrabah to take out a Heartless that got itself invited to a party thrown by Princess Jasmine and the Sultan to welcome "Prince Ali," but the two of them were not invited. Aladdin and the Genie find them and offer them the lamp to help with their fight with the Heartless. Meanwhile, Roxas begins to have doubts about the true nature of Nobodies.(If you like my other fic "Singing in the Shower" then you'll love this.)





	My Heart Beats with the Dance

**Author's Note:**

> For any younger readers who might not know, "lub dub" is the sound of your heartbeat <3(:

            Roxas and Xion peeked through the cracks in the door of the palace’s inner courtyard, watching the party in full swing under the moonlight. They could see Aladdin, still disguised as a prince, and the Genie, disguised as a human, talking to a woman dressed in blue. Their target, a Heartless dressed in red robes, disguised as a fabulously wealthy prince, joined in on the conversation. How anyone could be fooled by the clumsy Heartless parading around as a human, they didn’t know, but they did know that they had to get into that party somehow. Roxas shivered and zipped his coat higher, chilled by the desert night.

            A Corridor of Darkness had taken them as far as the palace’s outer courtyard, but they didn’t think they could get into the party without having several spears and scimitars pointed at their throats. Roxas began to pace around the garden, trying to come up with a way to take out their target.

            “You know,” he said to Xion, “We could just barge in there, take out the Heartless, and take a Dark Corridor out.”

            Xion sighed and shook her head. “Saix would be furious if we did something like that.”

            “Do you think he would even care?” Roxas said with a raised eyebrow, “As long as we kill the Heartless, we should be fine.”

            “But we would frighten everyone in the party.” Xion touched her fist to her chin in thought. “We have to lure the Heartless away first.”

            Roxas scoffed. “We’re not gonna hurt anyone,” he reasoned, “I just don’t want to waste too much time. We don’t want to keep Axel waiting, do we?”

            Xion smiled and turned around to look through the door once more, seeing that Aladdin and the Genie were gone. “Axel wouldn’t want us to frighten them, either,” she said.

            Roxas sighed and began pacing again. They could open a Corridor right next to the Heartless and pull it in, but the chance of them being noticed would be too high, and the Heartless could hurt them if they tried to touch it. They could climb a wall and take it down from on high, but a guard could shoot arrows at them. The only chance they had was somehow getting into the party and luring the Heartless out.

            “You’re right,” Roxas said.

            “Of course I am.”

            “We’ll have to sneak in. Here’s what we’ll do.” Roxas stopped pacing and Xion turned to look at him. “We’ll disguise ourselves as servants and get it to follow us out here; then we can take it out.” He finished with clenched fists and a determined grin.

            “There’s a chance that it’ll notice that we’re Nobodies and attack us immediately,” she said, “But it’s our best shot.”

            Roxas smirked and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said, “That Heartless is so absorbed in his life of luxury, he won’t even notice.”

            Xion chuckled with a smile. “Alright, servants it is, then.”

            “I’m sorry, but you’re not seriously crashing a party dressed as servants, are you?” said a voice behind them. Roxas whipped around to find the Genie, who had spoken, and Aladdin walking up to them. Roxas grinned.

            “Genie, Aladdin!” he said, “How have you been?”

            “We’re doing good,” Aladdin said, “How about you?”

            Roxas sighed. “We’re fine, but we need to get into the party.”

            “There’s a Heartless in there that we need to take care of,” Xion supplied. She turned back to the crack in the door, spying on the party once again.

            “Yeah, yeah, but can we get back to the whole servant thing?” the Genie asked, crossing his arms, “If you’re gonna kill a monster, at least do it in style. Know what I’m saying?” In style? As in, dress like a party goer? Roxas wasn’t sure where they could get such fine clothes on such short notice.

            “But how are we supposed to do that?” Xion said, echoing his thoughts, “We could find servant’s clothes in any old closet, but how will we get fancy clothes like theirs?” She pointed her thumb behind her at the door to the party.

            Roxas paused and rested his fist on his lips, thinking of a solution, until Aladdin snapped his fingers, grinning. “I’ve got it!” he said, “The lamp.” He pulled a gold oil lamp out of his pocket and held it out to Roxas, who took it, regarding it perplexedly.

            “This is a lamp,” he said simply. He looked up at Aladdin with a raised eyebrow.

            The Genie hummed and nodded his head. “I think you might be onto something, Al,” he said. He swooped over to be right next to Roxas, turning blue and shedding his human disguise with a puff of blue smoke. “Alright, here’s the deal.” Roxas looked up at him with wide eyes. “You get three wishes. No wishing for more wishes, no wishing to fall in love, no bringing people back from the dead, and no wishing to kill anyone, so you gotta deal with this Heartless on your own, alright?”

            “Wait, back up,” Roxas said, holding up the hand that wasn’t holding the lamp, “What do you mean ‘wishes’?”

            The Genie sighed and rolled his eyes. “I literally just explained it. I’m a Genie; I grant wishes. You can wish for anything you want, apart from what I just said, so I suggest wishing for a disguise. And make sure to rub the lamp each time you make a wish. Oh, and _be specific_. You could say ‘I wish we were in disguise’ and I could dress you up as a ninja and not a guest at this party.”

            Roxas’ eyes grew even wider, and his face split into a grin as he realized that the Genie had given him and Xion an extraordinary gift. He looked at her, whose expression mirrored his. Their mission just got a whole lot easier.

            “Alright,” Roxas said, rubbing his hand quickly against the side of the lamp, building up warm friction on its surface, “I wish Xion and I were dressed like the party-goers.” The lamp glowed blue for a moment, and the Genie approached them, holding his hand out to Roxas.

            “You don’t have to do it that hard,” he said, patting the lamp before turning to Xion. “Alright, ladies first.” He took her hand and led her a little ways off into the garden, stopping about ten yards away. The Genie stretched his arms and popped his neck, preparing to go to work. He raised his arms in the air, making circular movements with his hands as blue smoke filled the garden, and from the blue smoke appeared a wardrobe, half open and packed with clothes. By the light of the moon, Roxas could see the sheen of silk and organza and the twinkle of glittering jewels. The Genie reached into the wardrobe and pulled out hangers full of outfit after outfit, sprouting several more arms to complete the task faster.

            “Hmm,” he said, holding up a sky blue off-the-shoulder bralette and matching pants, “Reminds me of ice cream. Am I right, Roxas?” He gave Roxas a grin but tossed the outfit aside. “No, no, can’t wear the same thing as the princess, can we?” He continued combing through the wardrobe, searching for a suitable outfit for Xion, but Roxas wished (unofficially) that the Genie would hurry up. Who knew how long until the Heartless grew bored and left the party?

            “You know what? I think I like the black thing you’ve got going on,” the Genie said, retracting his extra arm and holding a dark suit up to her. “Yes, girl, this will totally match your eyes. A little privacy, gentlemen?” With a snap of his fingers, an ornately carved dressing screen appeared in front of Xion, blocking her, and partially the Genie, from view.

            “Love the coat, girl, but it has _got to go_.” From what Roxas could see, due to the Genie’s height, he pulled the coat straight over her head, still zipped, and draped it over the top of the screen. Puffs of smoke began rising up from behind the screen as the Genie worked. “Why do you even wear that thing?” he said, “Come on, girl, body confidence. Gimme five.” Roxas heard the sound of their hands slapping together and Xion’s light laughter.

            “It’s to protect me from Darkness,” she explained.

            “It’s to protect you from getting a date,” the Genie said, “But with this outfit, even that Nobody over there is gonna want a piece of this.” Xion laughed again and it took Roxas a moment to realize that the Genie was referring to him. “Alright, girl, take a look in the mirror and tell me what you think.” Roxas tilted to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of what she looked like, but he couldn’t see around the screen, and straightened again when the Genie came back around into view.

            “May I introduce: the new and improved Miss Xion.” He grabbed the corner of the dressing screen and yanked it away, and it billowed as if made of fabric before disappearing with a sound like a flag flapping in the wind.

            Xion walked up to Roxas and Aladdin, bathed in moonlight, wearing the type of outfit that Roxas had never seen her in before, nor, he was certain, that he would ever see her in again. Her silken black top, cropped at the waist, hugged her torso snugly, and capped sleeves covered her small shoulders. Jewels lined the heart-shaped collar and the waist band of her puffy, long, black pants and the toes of her matching shoes. A sheer veil covered the bottom half of her face, and the long back piece of the veil draped over the top of her head and trailed down her back, attaching at her wrists, giving her the appearance of wings. Though Xion always wore black, she had never looked so radiant. Roxas could hardly take his eyes off of her and heat rose in his cheeks.

            He pressed his hands to his face, wondering how it could be hot when the air around him was so cold. But he didn’t have much time to think about it, as the Genie grabbed his shoulder and ushered him to the wardrobe. He went through it the same way he did with Xion until he found a suitable outfit for the Roxas and created a new dressing screen as he had done before. He ripped Roxas’ coat right over his head and tossed it to the side. The cool night air stung his arms, and Roxas rubbed his hands over them, trying to stay warm.

            “Try this,” the Genie said, holding up a white tunic with a dark blue vest. He pinched the center of Roxas’ black tank top and pulled it forward a few inches before releasing it. When the fabric snapped back into place, the tunic the Genie was holding disappeared and reappeared on Roxas’ body, rippling out in strips and waves from where the Genie had plucked, and thick, blue smoke billowed around his torso. Roxas coughed and waved the smoke away.

            “Nice, very nice,” the Genie said, nodding his head, “The pants, not so much.” He grabbed the knee of Roxas’ black pants and ripped them away as if the back of his pant-legs had Velcro on them. Roxas looked down in alarm, feeling slightly violated, but relaxed when he saw that blue, silken pants had replaced his other pair before he could even feel the air touch his legs.

            “Oh, and by the way, Goldilocks,” the Genie said, ruffling Roxas’ hair, “The people of Agrabah have black hair.” He snapped his fingers and a full body mirror appeared before Roxas. “What do you think?”

            The first thing Roxas noticed was that his blond hair had turned as black as Xion’s. He let out a breath, running his fingers through his hair, and examined the rest of his body, swathed in rich cottons and silks. The Genie certainly knew what he was doing. Roxas’ clothes fit him impeccably well and were comfortable and airy, too. He ran his hands down the fine silk of his vest, smooth under his fingers, and not a stitch out of place. The elegant clothes gave him the appearance of royalty.

            “It looks really good,” Roxas said with a smile.

            “Of course it does, I made it!” the Genie said. With a snap of his fingers, the wardrobe and dressing screen disappeared with a puff of blue smoke. He grabbed the bottom of the mirror and pulled it downwards, letting it snap up into itself, like a window screen retracting, before disappearing from existence as well. “Oh, and I gave your new threads the same Darkness repelling properties your coat had. You’re welcome,” The Genie said. He turned back to Xion and Aladdin. “Alright,” he said, transforming himself to look human, “Let’s get you two into that party.”

            Aladdin and the Genie led them around to a side door into the inner courtyard where the party was being held so that they would go relatively unnoticed; unlike how they would have been by entering through the front doors. Roxas looked around at the party, feeling much warmer by the heat of several golden braziers that stood around the space, heating and lighting the area. The moon above them glowed, casting a soft atmosphere over the courtyard, full of luxurious couches to rest on and a large buffet table settled between to braziers. Even the water of the fountain in the middle of the dance floor seemed to glitter in the firelight. The guests wore the finest clothes he had ever seen and the buffet table held the riches, most decadent food he would have ever tasted had he given himself the opportunity to do so. Instead, he ignored the food and other party members and scanned the area, looking for the Heartless, but he didn’t see it anywhere. It must have left. Roxas let out a small sigh.

            “Prince Ali, there you are,” a woman dressed in light blue said, walking up to them, followed by an elderly man. “Who are your friends?”

            Aladdin smiled and swept his arm out to the two Nobodies. “These are my friends from Ababwa, Roxas and Xion. And this is Princess Jasmine and her father, the Sultan.”

            Roxas bent into a bow and saw Xion dip in a curtsey out of the corner of his eye.

            “It’s a pleasure to meet you, your Majesty,” Xion said to the Sultan, “And your esteemed daughter.”

            Roxas straightened upright, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. Xion had a lot better manners than he did. He tried to match her tone and politeness with his next words.

            “We apologize for our tardiness,” he said, “We were, um, taking care of important business for Ala-uh-Prince Ali, and we hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive us.”

            Jasmine smiled. “Of course,” she said, “It is a pleasure to have you in our home. Please enjoy the party.” She gestured around with her hand.

            “Thank you, your highness,” Xion said.

            The Genie pulled Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Sultan into a conversation about some performance that had happened prior to the arrival of Roxas and Xion, and they took it as the sign that they could walk around the party by themselves. Xion grabbed Roxas’ elbow and looped her arm with his, and they strode around the courtyard, smiling at other guests but spoke to no one except each other, only stopping to snag some chocolate from the buffet.

            “Where do you think it is?” Roxas asked quietly, sticking a piece of chocolate in his mouth.

            Xion sighed. “I don’t know,” she said around the chocolate in her own mouth. “I don’t see it anymore.”

            “We should ask around,” Roxas said once he had swallowed his sweet. They went around to the party guests, asking if they had seen where the “prince” had gone, but no one knew. Roxas sighed. “We should check somewhere else in the palace,” he said.

            Xion nodded. “Yeah, he might still be close by.” They quickly walked to the door leading into the palace, making their way around the crowd of people, looking over their shoulders to see if anyone was following them. They were only a few yards away when Jasmine, with Aladdin on her arm, stepped in front of them, and they stopped in their tracks.

            “Your highness,” Roxas greeted her with a nod, tamping down his budding anxiety. If they were caught wandering around the palace without permission, they could get thrown out of the party.

            Jasmine smiled. “Hello, again,” she said, “We are about to begin another dance, and I was wondering if you would care to join.” She looked between them expectantly, but Roxas cringed internally. He didn’t know how to dance, and saying no to royalty would probably be a bad idea, even if it was something as simple as dancing.

            “We would love to,” Roxas said tightly with a smile as his anxiety grew.

            “Wonderful,” she said, “I should ask father if he will join as well.” She removed her arm from Aladdin and left the three standing there.

            “I can’t dance,” Roxas admitted with wide eyes, “I’m going to look like an idiot.”

            Xion sighed. “I don’t know how to dance either,” she said with furrowed brows but, after a moment, she smiled, and her eyes lit up. “The Genie can help!”

            “You want to waste a wish on dancing?” Aladdin said.

            “It’s not a waste if it helps us not look like idiots,” Roxas insisted.

            Aladdin shrugged and pulled the lamp out of his pocket, handing it over to Roxas again, and nodded the Genie over to them. He rushed to their side and regarded them with a smile.

            “What’ll it be, master?” he asked Roxas.

            Roxas rubbed the lamp and said, “I wish Xion and I could dance. And not look stupid while doing it.”

            “Ooh, interesting wish,” the Genie said, “Boy, I know you just want to impress you girl, but the ladies like it better if you take the time to learn _on your own_.”

            “ _What_?” Roxas said with an incredulous look on his face.

            “The Princess asked us to join in on the next dance,” Xion explained, “But we don’t want to look…foolish.”

            The Genie crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at them. “Alright, alright, if you say so, kiddoes.” He snapped his fingers and little puffs of smoke appeared at their feet before dissipating into the air. At that same moment, music began playing, and several couples jumped onto the dance floor, circling around the fountain. Roxas gave the lamp back to Aladdin just before Jasmine came to pull him over to be part of the group, and Roxas and Xion followed, standing in place, waiting for the beat to come in.

            Roxas bit his lip, wondering if the Genie had actually given him any real dancing abilities or not and if he would even know how to do the particular dance that went the song playing. He took a deep, steadying breath, listening to the beat of the music, counting in time. He heard the right beat to come in on and took his first step.

            He and Xion, and likewise all the other couples dancing, stomped their feet with each beat of the song, moving their arms in grandiose motions with each step they took. Roxas didn’t know how he was doing it, but the dance was second nature to him, as if he had practice it for years and could perform it in his sleep. It seemed the Genie had pulled through for them.

            Roxas smiled as he and Xion snaked around each other, beginning to thoroughly enjoy himself. He laughed for a second but stopped when he remembered that he wasn’t supposed to be able to enjoy himself. He didn’t have a heart, aside from the one that was beating in his chest, anyway. But that didn’t count.

_Lub dub._

            He listened to his physical heart pound in his ears as he exerted himself in the fast paced dance, wondering how it was possible to be enjoying himself when that was literally impossible. He looked at Xion, who grinned widely, oblivious to Roxas’ internal suspicions. They locked eyes and she smirked, giving him a playful wink.

_Lub dub._

            Roxas blushed. Why was he blushing? No, no he was just hot from dancing, that was it. Roxas stepped in a circle around Xion, trying to ignore the way she moved her hips to the beat.

_Lub dub._

            But why bother ignoring it? What did it even matter? It’s not like he actually felt anything real for her; his lack of heart didn’t allow for any non-platonic feelings for Xion. It wasn’t as if he wanted to cuddle with her or kiss her or anything like that. His blush deepened as he thought about her plump lips. He swallowed and desperately hoped there were no mind readers in the room.

            They stood directly facing each other for the next few steps of the dance, and Roxas found himself looking right into her beautiful blue eyes. He couldn’t look away, and instead practically stared her down, as if in challenge. Xion dropped her gaze with a small smile, blushing behind her veil. Did she feel something too?

_Lub dub. Lub dub._

            Xion looked back up at him, finding his intense gaze still on her as they circled around one another. The dance picked up speed as the song neared its end and Roxas’ heart thudded madly in his chest from exertion. But the foreign feeling pierced him whenever he made eye contact with Xion, helping to quicken his pulse. They tore through the final moves of the dance with a passion that Roxas didn’t know existed inside of him, and the finishing pose had them standing nearly chest to chest with only a few precious inches of space between them. Roxas and Xion breathed heavily, shortening that distance with each breath, and stared into each other’s eyes.

_Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub._

            Applause from the other guests rang in their ears and Roxas started in surprise, remembering where he was. He blushed again and took a step away from Xion, and she smiled and looked down at her feet.

            “That was fun,” she said.

            Roxas nodded, still looking at her. “Yeah, it was.” He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked up to see the Genie grinning.

            “Can I just pat myself on the back?” he said, looking between the two, “I think that was the best dancing I’ve ever come up with. And not only can you do traditional Agrabah dances, you can also do hip hop, waltz, swing, ballet—you name it; you can dance it.” He laughed.

            Xion chuckled softly. “Thanks for helping us,” she said.

            “Hey, don’t think me,” he said, waving his hand dismissively in the air, and pointed at Roxas, “He’s the one who wished for it. And I bet you’re glad you did,” he said, nudging the boy with his elbow, “Am I right?” The genie chuckled lightly. Roxas furrowed his brows, wondering at his meaning. “Oh by the way,” he turned serious, “You might want to take care of that guy.” He pointed across the two of them at the Heartless they had been looking for earlier, who had reappeared in the courtyard once again.

            Roxas gasped. “The Heartless!” He had completely forgotten about their mission. His hand itched as his Keyblade wanted to appear, but he tamped down the urge to summon it, not wanting to frighten anyone around him. “We have to get him out of here,” he said, “I need to make another wish.”

            The Genie nodded and got Aladdin’s attention from across the party. He was still talking to Jasmine but excused himself and made his way over to them.

            “Aladdin,” Roxas said urgently, “I need the lamp one last time.”

            “Oh, sure,” he said, handing the lamp over to Roxas.

            Roxas rubbed the lamp and said, “I wish the Heartless was in the outer courtyard of the palace.”

            “Why didn’t you wish for that earlier?!” Xion said, throwing her hands in the air.

            Roxas rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I…didn’t think about it,” he admitted, blushing again.

            “Hey don’t worry about it,” the Genie said, snapping his fingers. With a puff of smoke, the Heartless disappeared. “At least you got to have a nice dance, just the two of you.”

            Without responding to him, Xion ran to the doors that they had been spying through before Aladdin and the Genie found them and pushed them open, slipping through the crack. Roxas followed quickly behind, and the door slammed shut with a soft clang.

            Roxas looked around, letting his eyes readjust to the dim light of the moon. He squinted, seeing a shadowy blob in the middle of the outer courtyard, and summoned his Keyblade, seeing Xion do the same out of the corner of his eye. They sprinted at the monster and swung their weapons through the air, making contact with its inky skin. The Heartless shrieked in pain and swung its claws at them, but they jumped out of the way. Roxas rolled to the side and shot an ice blast at the monster, and it hissed and lunged for him, but Xion ran up behind it, striking it in the head with her Keyblade. The Heartless staggered and tried to take another swipe at her, but she batted its hands away with her weapon. Roxas swung his Keyblade and, with a fierce cry, blindsided their enemy, sending it flying through the air.

            The Heartless shakily got to its feet and turned on its heel, fleeing through a door leading into the palace. Roxas and Xion chased after it, bursting through the door into a hallway with several other doorways leading off of it. Roxas looked down the hall and saw the shadowy back of the monster as it disappeared around a corner.

            “That way!” he said, pointing and running after it with Xion trailing behind. They ran down the hall and turned the corner, leading to another long, narrow hall that opened into a bigger room at the end where they could see the Heartless talking to someone with its raspy, demonic voice. The other person, a palace guard by the looks of it, spoke normally; seemingly unaware that the person they were talking to was a horrible monster. They had to take out the Heartless before it took that person’s heart.

            The guard talking to the Heartless turned to begin walking down the hall. Xion gasped softly and pulled Roxas behind a pillar. “He’s coming this way,” she whispered, “We have to get past him.”

            “I bet the Heartless told him to find us,” Roxas said, “And it’s disguised as a prince, so that guy will try to arrest us for endangering royalty.” Roxas began to sweat as the guard's footsteps slowly grew closer.

            Xion paused in thought before hatching an idea. She ripped the veil off of her face and gripped Roxas’ shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eye. “Kiss me, Roxas,” she demanded in a fierce whisper. His eyes grew wide.

_Lub dub._

            Roxas’ mouth went dry. “What?” he said weakly, “Are-are you sure this is the time or place?”

            “That guard will think we’re regular guests at the party wanting some alone time and ignore us,” she whispered, “He’ll walk right past us and we can go after the Heartless.” The footsteps grew closer.

            “I don’t know,” Roxas said, biting his lip. Perhaps Xion had a point. If _he_ caught two random people kissing at a party, Roxas would ignore them, but the thought of kissing Xion made his heart race almost as fast as it had when they had danced earlier. Should he do it? They could just knock the guard out, but that would look a little suspicious if anyone found him.

            Xion didn’t give Roxas any more time to think. She grabbed his face with her hands and pressed her lips to his just as the guard came around the pillar.

_Lub dub lub dub_ _lub dub lub dub lub dub lub dub lub dub_.

            Fire burned in Roxas’ entire body and his eyes closed, feeling Xion’s lips against his. They were dry from the desert air, but he didn’t mind. He liked the texture. Roxas gripped her waist with his hands and pressed her against the pillar as her arms slid around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair. He moved his lips against hers; tasting the chocolate she had eaten earlier. It tasted even better now than it did then. Roxas kept his lips locked on Xion's until desperate for air.

            Xion pulled away from him, gasping in a few breaths. She and Roxas breathed heavily for a few seconds, sucking in precious oxygen.

            “Do you think the guard is gone?” she whispered, pulling her hands off of him and clasping them at her chest.

            Oh, right. The guard. Roxas had forgotten about him. He didn’t answer for a moment, listening for footsteps, but he only heard faints ones, retreating to where he and Xion had come from.

            “I think he’s gone,” Roxas said.

            “Oh, okay,” Xion said with a nod. She and Roxas looked at each other for a moment. “You can let go of me now.”

            “Oh, sorry,” he said, flushing and removing his hands from her waist, taking a step back. Pink tinged Xion’s cheeks as well. She cleared her throat lightly and peeked around the pillar, and Roxas looked over her head.

            They couldn’t see the Heartless, but they could feel its dark presence in the room at the end of the hall—an unnatural chill resonating in their bodies. Xion slipped out from behind the pillar and ran down the hall and Roxas followed quickly after, summoning his weapon to his hands. They skidded to a halt in the spacious room, and look around. Ornately carved pillars supported the high ceiling and colorful tiled floors filled the space, but the room was empty, save for a golden throne upholstered in red velvet cushions. Sitting on that throne was the Heartless.

            The monster stood slowly from the throne, pinning Roxas and Xion with its yellow gaze. It began to run at them, and they readied their weapons, dashing to meet the monster in the middle of the room. Roxas swung his Keyblade at the Heartless and hit it in the chest, sending it staggering backwards, as Xion shot several ice blasts at it. The monster raised its claws and jumped at her, but she quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding its attack. Roxas grit his teeth and glowered at the Heartless.

            “ _Thunder!_ ” he cried, pointing his Keyblade skyward. Lightning danced around the room, striking the Heartless and knocking it to its feet, and Roxas followed up with an ice blast and a fire blast in turn. Xion also sent a fire blast at their enemy, lighting it up like Christmas tree. Its skin smoldered, filling the room with an acrid scent, as it sank to its knees. Xion ran up to the Heartless and raised her Keyblade to strike it down once and for all, but it lashed its claws out at her, sending her flying through the air with a yelp. She landed hard on her left foot, clutching her ankle as she let out a groan.

            “Xion!” Roxas cried in alarm. He turned back to the Heartless, fury igniting his features. “ _Freeze!_ ” he screamed. A ball of frost exploded on the Heartless, and the monster disappeared into smoke, heart rising to the sky, passing through the ceiling and out of sight. Roxas didn’t bother watching it go. He turned on his heel and ran to wear Xion sat on the ground, groaning in pain.

            “Xion!” He threw himself on the ground beside her. “What’s hurt?”

            Xion grimaced and looked down at her foot. “I think I twisted my ankle.” She lifted up the hem of her silky pants, so Roxas could see her red skin. He could have healed it with Cure, but he had exhausted his magic with his last ice blast and they had both run out of potions earlier that day.

            “Can I see?” Roxas asked. She nodded and he gingerly held her calf in one hand and her heel in the other, examining her slender ankle. As far as ankles go, Xion certainly had an attractive one.

_Lub dub._

            _F_ _ocus, Roxas_ , he chided himself, unsure if he was even supposed to find anything attractive or beautiful in any way, especially an ankle.

            “Does this hurt?” he asked, rolling Xion’s foot in gentle circular motions. She grimaced and nodded, so Roxas stopped, setting her foot back on the floor. He took a breath to say something else, but heard voices coming from the hallway they came through. “We have to go,” he whispered. He put one arm around Xion’s back and the other under her knees and scooped her up bridal-style, standing and summoning a Corridor of Darkness to the outer courtyard. He stepped through the portal and sealed the entrance just as several guards ran into the throne room. Hidden within the Darkness, Roxas breathed a sigh of relief. He began walking through the Corridor, acutely aware of Xion’s arm wrapped around his neck.

_Lub dub._

            He blushed, hoping she couldn’t see though the darkness. Luckily for him, the Corridor was very short, and they soon arrived at the empty courtyard. Roxas settled Xion on the ground and knelt on his knees next to her. He searched inside himself and let out a sigh of gratitude when he felt the fullness of magic inside him again. He summoned his Keyblade.

            “ _Heal_ ,” he said, casting green light over Xion’s form.

            “Thank you,” she said quietly, giving him a smile that crinkled her eyes.

_Lub dub._

            “You’re welcome,” Roxas said. He offered his hand to Xion and helped her stand, feeling the sting of bitterly cold night air when she let go, as if it had stung his heart as well.

            Roxas internally shook his head. He didn’t have a heart.

            So why did Xion make it feel like he did?

            He began to doubt Xemnas’ claims that Nobodies didn’t have hearts—not entirely doubt them; it was only a pinprick planted in the back of his brain, a tiny seed that he could tend to at a later time and examine at his own leisure when Xion wasn’t there to distract him. Or would her presence help the seed grow?

            He looked back at the girl in question, who shivered as she rubbed her arms, trying to warm herself. Roxas had the overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around her. She shouldn’t have to suffer like this in the freezing night air. Without thinking, he acted on his urge.

            “Are you cold?” he asked, pulling her into a hug, rubbing her back to build up friction under his hand.

             _Lub dub._

            “A little,” she said, clasping her hands together against his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. They stood there for a few moments, locked in an embrace, while Roxas decided that _now_ would be a good time to examine his little seed of doubt.

            Perhaps Xemnas was half-right. Whatever Roxas was feeling—and he _was_ feeling something—it was entirely foreign to him. The way his heart beat quickly in his chest and his face grew warm had never happened before. Physically, that kind of thing happened when he fought Heartless or did any other exercise, such as the dance earlier. But he knew that wasn’t entirely the reason he felt what he did. So if Roxas didn’t get the feeling from exercise, where did it come from? What was it called?

            Roxas grew frustrated at his own ignorance. Ah, there was another one; frustration. He didn’t used to be able to feel that. He combed his mind for something that could tell him what the feeling he got from Xion was. It was on the tip of his tongue…

            Love?

            He nearly scoffed. He understood so little about love, and what he did know about it was that it was a powerful emotion. This couldn’t be more than a schoolboy crush.

            Roxas blinked. Crush? The phrase came to his mind so easily, but, like love, he had trouble truly understanding what it meant. It wasn’t as strong as love, but it was similar, but at the same time, it was different.

            This was getting confusing.

            “Hey, Roxas,” Xion said. Roxas flinched, being suddenly pulled from his thoughts. He leaned slightly away from Xion but kept his arms around her. “We should go look for the Genie so he can give us our clothes back,” she said, stepping away, and Roxas dropped his arms to his side. He nodded.

            “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. They began to walk toward the door leading to the inner courtyard and Roxas decided that next time he saw Axel in private, he would ask him about the strange things he had felt that night.

            He thought about Xion’s surprise kiss earlier and smiled. It gave a spring to his step, and he pulled the door to the inner courtyard open for her to pass through; the way any gentleman would do. As he watched her walk through the doorway, he decided that he would keep tonight’s events to himself. He didn’t want Axel to feel jealous.

            Not that Axel could have.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the 2019 remake of Aladdin. I saw it in theaters and absolutely loved it! I hope you enjoyed reading this!


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